This invention relates to using a device embedded in an apparatus (an xe2x80x9cembedded devicexe2x80x9d) to report the state of the apparatus to a remote computer.
An apparatus may contain an embedded device, such as a controller, to monitor and control its operation. Any type of apparatus may have an embedded device, including, but not limited to, home appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, and televisions, and manufacturing equipment, such as robotics, conveyors and motors.
Embedded devices are often connected to an internal network, such as a local area network (LAN), with an interface to the Internet. Other devices on the internal network may communicate with the embedded devices over the internal network.
In general, in one aspect, the invention is directed to using a device embedded in an apparatus to report the state of the apparatus to a remote computer. This aspect of the invention features detecting the state of the apparatus, generating an e-mail message that reports the state of the apparatus using a self-describing computer language, and sending the e-mail message to the remote computer. An example of a self-describing computer language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML).
Using e-mail, the remote computer can obtain the state of the apparatus even if the remote computer cannot directly address the embedded device. Thus, computers that cannot communicate directly with the embedded device, such as computers that are not on the same internal network as the embedded device, can still obtain the status of the apparatus. Moreover, because the state is reported using a self-describing computer language, the remote computer can interpret the state without the aid of a person. As a result, processes, such as maintenance and the like, can be scheduled automatically for the apparatus and/or embedded device by the remote computer.
This aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The state is indicative of an error condition in the apparatus. The error condition is a variable that deviates from an acceptable value or a predetermined range of acceptable values. The function of detecting the state includes receiving the state from the apparatus by, e.g., retrieving the state periodically from the apparatus. The function of detecting the state includes obtaining an identifier for the apparatus, the identifier relating to the state of the apparatus, and using the embedded device to read the state from the apparatus using the identifier.
This aspect of the invention may also include determining if the state of the apparatus has changed. The e-mail message is generated if the state of the apparatus has changed and is not generated otherwise. The function of determining if the state of the apparatus has changed includes comparing the state received from the apparatus to a previous state of the apparatus.
The e-mail message is generated using a predefined template by obtaining one or more variables relating to the apparatus and inserting the one or more variables into the template. The state of the apparatus may be included as part of a body of the e-mail message or as part of an attachment to the e-mail message.
In general, in another aspect, the invention is directed to obtaining a state of an apparatus from a device, such as a controller, embedded in the apparatus. This aspect of the invention features receiving an e-mail message that reports the state of the apparatus using a self-describing computer language and extracting the state of the apparatus from the e-mail message.
This aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The self-describing computer language is XML. The state of the apparatus is indicative of an error condition in the apparatus. The error condition is a variable that deviates from an acceptable value or a predetermined range of acceptable values. The state of the apparatus is passed to a customer relationship management system.
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a system that includes first and second devices. The first device includes circuitry that generates an electronic mail message reporting a state of an apparatus using a self-describing computer language. The second device is in communication with the first device. The second device includes circuitry that receives the electronic mail message from the first device.
This aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The second device receives the e-mail message from the first device and extracts the state of the apparatus from the e-mail message. The first device is embedded in the apparatus and the second device is a remote computer.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, including the claims and drawings.